HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes City Council - 07/21/2021 - WorkshopI HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a true and correct copy of the minutes of the
Workshop Meeting of the Corpus Christi City Council of July 21, 2021, which were
approved by the City Council on August 10, 2021.
WITNESSETH MY HAND AND SEAL, on this the 10th day of August 2021.
(S E A L)
Rebecca Huerta
City Secretary
Corpus Christi, Texas
City of Corpus Christi
Rebecca Huerta, City Secretary
P.O. Box 9277
Corpus Christi, Texas 78469-9277
(361) 826-3105
rebeccah@cctexas.com
SCANNED
City of Corpus Christi
Meeting Minutes
City Council Workshop Session
1201 Leopard Street
Corpus Christi, TX 78401
cctexas.com
Wednesday, July 21, 2021
1:30 PM City Council Chambers
SEAWATER DESALINATION WORKSHOP
A. Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo to call the meeting to order.
Mayor Guajardo called the meeting to order at 2:09 p.m.
B. City Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta to call the roll of the required Charter Officers.
City Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta called the roll and verified that a quorum of the City
Council and the required Charter Officers were present to conduct the meeting.
Charter Officers: City Manager Peter Zanoni, City Attorney Miles K. Risley and City
Secretary Rebecca L. Huerta.
Note: Council Member Barrera participated by telephone conference.
Present 8 - Mayor Paulette M. Guajardo, Council Member Roland Barrera, Council Member Gil
Hernandez, Council Member Billy A. Lerma, Council Member John Martinez, Council
Member Ben Molina, Council Member Mike Pusley, and Council Member Greg Smith
Absent 1 - Council Member Michael Hunter
C. BRIEFINGS TO CITY COUNCIL:
1. 21-0839 Seawater Desalination Workshop
Mayor Guajardo referred to Item 1.
Chief Operations Officer for Water Utilities Michael Murphy introduced the Seawater
Desalination team: Director of Water Utilities Kevin Norton, Assistant Director of Water
Quality & Treatment Gabriel Ramirez, Assistant Director of Wastewater Treatment Daniel
Deng, Water Resource Manager Esteban Ramos, Strategic Communications Manager
Amber Oetting, Environmental Engineer Maria Corona and Jason Cocklin with Freese
and Nichols.
Director of Water Utilities Kevin Norton presented an update on the following topics: site
selection strategy; all sites considered; and project site selection.
The following topics were presented by staff: permit application status - Inner Harbor and
La Quinta; May Council retreat; under Mayor and Council's direction; supply versus
City of Corpus Christi
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City Council Workshop Session
Meeting Minutes July 21, 2021
demand; the two sites; pros and cons of Inner Harbor; pros and cons of La Quinta;
pipeline potential for La Quinta; environmental discharge study; Inner Harbor area site
map; La Quinta area site map; Corpus Christi Bay salinity; what will be put back into the
Bay; what about Mary Rhodes pipeline; how Mary Rhodes supplies the Coastal Bend;
twenty-four million gallons more; balancing our water quality; operations and
maintenance; and forward, together - property; power study; procurement; award
contracts; and construction.
Council Members, City Manager Peter Zanoni, Mr. Murphy, the Seawater Desalination
team and General Manager at San Patricio Municipal Water District Brian Williams
discussed the following topics: everything being discussed today will focus on a 20
million gallons per day (MGD) plant; Harbor Island was eliminated as a potential site not
only because of the location, but because of the power distribution and environmental
impact on the discharge; Council Members would like all costs to be considered; all
options are still being considered regarding design, build, manage and maintain; two
years ago, the Mayor and City Council decided on Inner Harbor and La Quinta as the two
desalination sites to consider; the Mary Rhodes pipeline includes the water rights and
water contract; under the La Quinta site the $4 per 1,000 gallons does not include the
construction of pipeline to Corpus Christi; the focus of the desalination plant has always
been what is best for the environment, the economy and the most sustainable; in 2020
less water was taken from the Nueces River, and more water was taken from the Mary
Rhodes pipeline; a Council Member suggested disconnecting the Exxon plant from the
O.N. Stevens Water Treatment Plant and connecting it to the desalination plant, freeing
up an additional 20 MGD at O.N. Stevens; CC Polymers would not have any negative
impact on the production, intake or discharge; additional salt is not being added to the
body of water; the only two ingredients that will be put back into the Bay are salt and
water; in order to bring the firm yield calculation up to capacity, the Mary Rhodes pipeline
needs to be up to 70 MGD; about 11 MGD are currently being delivered to the industrial
users; industrial users will need about 36 MGD at full capacity; and the cost of water is
the most important concern and issue in the decision making process.
D. ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business, Mayor Guajardo adjourned the meeting at 4:32 p.m.
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